Welcome and Introductions
Bill Robertson, Chair, Governor's Workforce Investment Board (GWIB), called the meeting to order at 3:40 p.m. by
welcoming board members and guests to the meeting. Members introduced themselves and Dr. Martha Smith, president
of Anne Arundel Community College, welcomed attendees to the college. Mr. Robertson acknowledged the following new
board members: Elliot Lasson, Executive Director of Joblink, a nonprofit organization in the Baltimore area
charged with facilitating job placement in a portion of the faith-based community; and Christian
Johannson, the new Secretary of the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development. Also introduced were
Bel Leong Hong, Knowledge Advantage, and Larry Letow, Convergence Technology who are awaiting their appointments to the board.
Mr. Eric Seleznow, Executive Director, GWIB, directed the Board to the materials in the packets. He briefly
discussed the transition of adult education from MSDE to DLLR and the GWIB's role in the transition committee, which
is charged with overseeing all aspects of the transition. Several Board members will be joining the committee,
including Dr. Ray Hoy, Delegate Susan Krebs, Secretary Tom Perez , Dr. Nancy Grasmick and several other state and
regional experts. The first meeting is scheduled for March 23, 2009, and the committee will update the board at the
June Board meeting.
Committee Updates
Untapped Population Report
Marge Thomas and Lillian Kilroy, Co-Chairs for the Untapped Workforce Committee, presented the Committee's final
report to the Board. Ms. Kilroy acknowledged and thanked the members of the committee who assisted in the creation
of the report, which is available on the GWIB website. The committee's findings
included a number of recommendations for creating a unified marketing plan, in order to assist this segment of the
population in finding meaningful employment.
Recommendation 1: Focus initial marketing efforts on industries with a history of hiring people who belong
to untapped populations.
Recommendation 2: Explore and invest in an affiliation with an online internet job matching site.
Recommendation 3: Create a single umbrella identity for outreach to employers.
Recommendation 4: Use professionals to develop a communications and marketing plan in order to better
involved influencers and business champions to outreach their peers and influence the hiring of members of the
untapped workforce.
Recommendation 5: Reorganize the Maryland Workforce Exchange (MWE) to balance the needs of employers with
those of job seekers.
Recommendation 6: Create a unified Membership Program that engages a broad range of workforce development
intermediaries who want to participate in the MWE.
Secretary Perez thanked the co-chairs and committee members for their work and offered his support for the report
and its suggestions and recommendations. He suggested that some of the federal economic recovery funds could be used
to reinvent the MWE.
Southern Maryland WIB Certification
Mr. Robertson called upon Mr. Seleznow to certify the newly reconstituted Southern Maryland Workforce Investment
Board. In accordance with Section 117 (c) (2) of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, the Governor is required to
certify local workforce investment area boards once every two years. Such certification shall be based on criteria
established under subsection (b) of the Act {Membership} and, for a second or subsequent certification, the extent
to which the local board has ensured that workforce investment activities carried out in the local area have enabled
the local area to meet the local performance measures.
Mr. Seleznow introduced a motion asking the Board to approve a motion to certify the establishment of the
Southern Maryland Workforce Investment Board since they have met the requirements for certification which include:
- Appointment of its members by the Chief Local Elected Official(s).
- The LWIB must meet the membership criteria as set fourth under Section 117 (c) (2) of the Workforce Investment Act.
- The LWIB must be designated locally by regulation, resolution, policy, or
MOU, as approved by the Chief Local Elected Official(s).
- The LWIB must identify an administrative and fiscal agent for federal Workforce Investment Act funds.
- The LWIB must administer the local one-stop workforce system and other requirements as outlined in the Act.
- The LWIB must establish by-laws, operating guidelines, or similar governance documents, to organize the
activities of the board.
It was moved that:
"The Governor's Workforce Investment Board recognizes that the Southern Maryland Workforce Investment Board, as a
committee of the Tri-County Council for Southern Maryland, and on behalf of the people of St. Mary's, Charles &
Calvert Counties, has satisfactorily met the criteria for certification as a "local workforce investment board".
Therefore, it is hereby recommended to the Governor, that the Southern Maryland Workforce Investment Board be
approved for Level I Certification as a "local workforce investment board" in the State of Maryland effective March
11, 2009 through June 30, 2010."
The motion was read and approved.
Governor Martin O'Malley presented a citation to the representatives from the Southern Maryland
WIB, Gary Hodge, and Wayne Clark. He also thanked Assistant Secretary Andy Moser for all his hard work in assisting
Southern Maryland in reconstituting the board. Mr. Hodge and Mr. Clark thanked the Governor, Andy Moser and the GWIB
for this honor. They also thanked Ellen Flowers Field, the new Executive Director for the LWIB and Delegate Sally
Jameson for their help.
Presentation: Governor Martin O'Malley
Mr. Robertson introduced Governor O'Malley. Governor O'Malley acknowledged the Anne Arundel County Community College
students that greeted him upon his arrival and thanked the Board members for their work over the past year on the
various publications produced by the board.
Governor O'Malley distributed and discussed copies of the speech he gave to the United States Naval Academy on
January 26, 2009 and noted that copies are available on the Governor's website. He stressed the importance of
American leadership in sustainability, skills, and security, and the importance of these three areas in Maryland. He
emphasized the need to train segments of the population who lack the skills needed for a well-paid job, and
acknowledged the work of each of the State's Secretaries in aiding their clients with this training. He discussed
the assembly of the workforce sub-cabinet, and a variety of other councils and workgroups that are helping Maryland
remain nationally competitive while best utilizing the federal recovery funds. Gov. O'Malley noted that Maryland is
making great strides towards achieving this goal and that David Costello is heading up the Governor's Recovery Unit,
which is tasked with monitoring the state's spending [of these funds] to ensure that they are used best. The
Governor asked the Board for guidance in spending these funds and gave a brief presentation on the
state's new recovery
website. He invited the Board and guests visit the site on their own. Maryland will be partnering with Virginia
to obtain additional education funds from the federal government.
He again thanked all the board members for their hard work and reminded members that the economy will be
rebounding in the coming months and years, and that workforce issues will continue to be a concern for the state and
his administration.
The Governor discussed the severe drops in revenue funds and asked for help in pulling down competitive grants
for the states. He discussed the need for member to be involved with the State's schools, especially with Science,
Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM). The Governor emphasized the need for greater Career and Technical Education
(CTE) training for students who are not headed to college, and the need for schools to better prepare these
students. Following his presentation, he engaged some members in a brief question and answer session. Members
thanked the Governor for his hard work.
Presentation: 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Rachel Gragg, Federal Policy Director for the Workforce Alliance, gave an overview of the 2009 American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act and the funds that are headed to the states from the federal government. She noted that the money
needs to be spent quickly and efficiently. The workforce funds are intended to be spent within the first 12 months
of availability, and the DOL has reaffirmed this directive. Ms. Gragg noted that the regular WIA funds are to be
spent in conjunction with these funds, and should not be withheld. The money from the recovery bill is meant to
transform the system, with a heavy emphasis on funding training programs and providing needs-based payments and
services. The funds are intended to put people back to wok and put money back into the economy.
Sec. Tom Perez gave a brief introduction to the State's use of these funds. DLLR is organizing this effort, along
with the Workforce Subcabinet. There are currently several upskilling programs available for people looking
to enter into high growth areas. The ARRA funds will allow the State to begin this work in earnest and the highly
competitive upskilling initiative will help put people back to work. DLLR is looking for feedback as they
spend these funds in determining how best to assist Marylanders.
Mr. Robertson briefly summarized the ARRA discussion and asked the board members to consider some policy
guidelines for the state. He noted that this is a unique opportunity to find transformational ways to use these
funds. The Executive Committee will be asked to address these issues, and would be forwarding their findings along
to the Board for their response.
Center for Industry Initiatives
Mr. Seleznow noted that the industry summaries are provided in the packets, and addressed the Greener Initiative and
the funds that are coming to the state via the recovery funds. There is a partnership working together to determine
how to best train people to work in the Greener economy. The board has requested that the Community College
Consortium work together to create "green curriculum," since the closest weatherization training program is located
in Pennsylvania. The Consortium is looking at how to replicate this program in MD.
Martin Knott, co-chair of the Construction Industry Initiative Committee, summarized the committee's activities
over the past months. They expect to unveil their recommendations to the Board in the next few months, following a
joint summit with the Energy Industry Initiative.
Emerging Workforce Committee co-Chairs Karen Sitnick and George Littrell emphasized the need to prepare our
students for jobs after college. They discussed the recent white paper that the committee has been working on and
the upcoming summit, in May. They will provide a copy at the next board meeting.
New Business
Mr. Robertson thanked the board members for their work and reminded them to respond to the policy guidelines in the
coming weeks.
The meeting adjourned at 5:45 pm.
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